Monday, July 8, 2013

The Assignation, 7-minute film DRAFT 4 (new ending)

The kettle is whistling loudly on the stove. LEYLA,
heavily pregnant, goes to the fridge, but finds no milk. She goes to
her purse but it's empty. She turns off the kettle.

Leyla

(calling out)

I haven't got any change, hon. Where's your wallet?

2. INT. A BABY'S BEDROOM. DAY

This room is brightly painted on three sides with a feature
wall of playful children's wallpaper on one side. It is as yet devoid
of furniture, except for a baby's basinette (empty) alongside the
wall-papered wall. MITCHELL (in his early 30s) is on a step-ladder
hanging a mobile from the ceiling.

MITCHELL

On the side table.

Humming happily, he steps down to admire his handiwork. Leyla comes in.

Leyla

(holding a packet of condoms)

Why would you need these?

MITCHELL

I wouldn't. Where did you get them?

Leyla rushes at him and starts beating him.

LEYLA

You bastard. How could you do this to me?

Mitchell skilfully restrains her.

MITCHELL

Where did you get them?

LEYLA

From your gym bag, you fucking bastard!

Mitchell runs from the room.

LEYLA

Don't run away from me!

She collapses in a welter of tears.

3. INT. ADULT bedroom. day

Mitchell bursts into his and Leyla's room and finds a
green gym bag sitting open on the bed. He rummages through it and pulls
out gym gear he doesn't recognize.

MITCHELL

Shit!

4. INT. BABY'S BEDROOM. DAY

Leyla, still on the floor, has the handsfree in her hand.

LEYLA

Mum? He's cheating on me.

We hear a heavy door slam in the background.

5. EXT. STREET/INT. CAR DAY

Mitchell drives. As he approaches the gym he sees
CHRISTOPHER and BILL walking away. Christopher carries an identical
green gym bag. Mitchell speeds up toward them from behind.

6. EXT. STREET. DAY.

The screech of Mitchell's braking makes Christopher and Bill turn around. Mitchell jumps out of the car. Mitchell has the original green gym bag. He is waving the packet of condoms.

MITCHELL

Mate, you just got me into a shitload of trouble with my wife.

Christopher barely has time to look down at the green
gym bag he is carrying before Mitchell has snatched it out of his hand
and swapped his with Christopher's.

MITCHELL

Didn't you notice it wasn't yours?

BILL

Didn't you?

Mitchell clenches his fist. Christopher steps between him and Bill, but Mitchell turns instead and storms off.

BILL

(brushing off Christopher's concern)

Oh, what could he do?

7. EXT. ROAD/INT. CAR. DAY

Mitchell on the phone while driving.

MITCHELL

(anxiously and placatingly)

No, still on time. I stepped out to get some milk. For Leyla.

8. EXT. STREET. DAY

Mitchell's car momentarily swings out of control,
crossing over to the other side of the road, forcing oncoming traffic
to slam on brakes and evade, before correcting itself and getting back
on the correct side.

9. INT. A BABY'S BEDROOM. DAY

Leyla's face is now muddied with tears and snot. Mum comes back into the room.

MUM

(brandishing a photo)

Who's this?

Leyla immediately stops crying, grabs the photo.

MUM

I never liked him, Leyla - I said to your father -

Leyla jumps up and leaves the room.

10. INT. EMBASSY. DAY

Inside the embassy, an attractive dark-haired young woman, ARZU, is shaking hands with two suited EXECUTIVES while a number of
hangers-on stand around. At back is the final slide of a Powerpoint
presentation depicting a giant pipeline through Asia Minor. An
INTERPRETER stands to the far side of Arzu and an executive, PIERCE, who can barely keep his eyes off Arzu.

PIERCE

If only more negotiations were this easy.

As Arzu turns for the translation, Pierce drops his eyes to her breasts.

INTERPRETER

(translating for Arzu)

Yalnızdahadanışıqlar buasanolsaydı

11. EXT. EMBASSY/INT. CAR. DAY

Mitchell pulls into a kerb. Across the road is a
modern embassy building with a wide stairway leading up to glassed
front doors. He turns off the engine and waits. We can hear what he's
been listening to.

VOICE ON TAPE

...For generations, Kuşköy villagers have conversed
using a unique form of whistled
communication they call “kuş dili,” or
“bird language”...

Mitchell pulls a photo of the young woman out of his gym bag.

VOICE ON TAPE

The name Kuşköy itself means “bird village.”

MITCHELL

(looking at photo)

Phoar!

12. EXT. STEPS. DAY

The embassy's glass front doors open. Arzu emerges with her translators and Pierce and the two executives.

ARZU

...işgörməksonra,unutmaqolacaq.

INTERPRETER

(to the executives)

And don't worry about the Kuşköy.Once they see the jobs this project will create, they'll
forget about being relocated.

13. EXT.STREET. DAY

Mitchell jumps from his car carrying the green gym
bag. As he crosses to the other side of the road, a car speeding toward
him screeches to a halt. Mitchell freezes in its path and sees Leyla
and Mum inside the car.

14. EXT. EMBASSY/ INT. CAR. DAY

LEYLA

Mitch?

15. EXT. STEPS. DAY

ARZU

(looking at Mitchell's lucky escape, laughing)

Uğurlu!

Mitchell bounds up the steps toward her, pulls a gun
from his gym bag - screaming starts from bystanders - and shoots her.
She falls to the ground. The executives try to help, while GUARDS
appear from everywhere.

GUARDS

Dur, qatil!

Mitchell tries to run back down the steps, but is
quickly surrounded by guards and FEDERAL POLICE. Guns have appeared from everywhere and
are pointing at Mitchell. He drops his weapon.

16. EXT. STREET. DAY

Mum and Leyla are standing on the footpath back from
the embassy watching as more guards surround Mitchell and medics arrive
from inside the building to form another cluster around the young
woman.

GUARDS

Qatil!

LEYLA

(to mum)

They're saying 'assassin'.

They watch as Mitchell is picked up, handcuffed, and led away. Mitchell tries to look back at Leyla as he is hustled away.

MITCHELL

It wasn't my bag!

Leyla looks at the photograph of the young woman she
has held in her hand. It is clear now that it is a surveillance photo
taken with a telephoto lens.

Back up the road, police cars arrive with flashing lights. We hear an ambulance siren in the distance.

The crowd around the young woman parts slightly and
we see medics cutting open her bloodied blouse. Pierce
kneels by her head looking on, powerlessly.

17. EXT. STREET. DAY

Mum is walking back to their car, several car lengths up the street, talking on her mobile.

MUM

And he told you he was just stepping out for milk?

18. EXT. STREET. DAY.

Leyla is still staring after Mitchell.

LEYLA

(to herself)

Perhaps he isn't a cheat.

She turns and looks up the street at Mum, who,
turning, points to the phone and whistles something ornate which is
subtitled. 'It's Dad'. Leyla nods and turns back to look in the
direction Mitchell was taken in.

ROLL CREDITS

Under the credits we hear a conversation in Kuşköy
bird language between a 'fluent speaker' and one who is clearly
learning. After a couple of exchanges, the fluent speaker laughs and
says "No" - it sounds like Leyla - and corrects the learner's previous
sentence. The two continue whistling to each other. The last two
exchanges, between the fluent speaker and learner respectively, are
subtitled: "Let's stop using condoms." "Time to start a family." "Is there a better way to express our love?"

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About Gordon Kalton Williams

He has devoted himself to understanding the link between words and music and dramatic action, and combines musical sensitivity, command of language and an instinct for the physics of drama.
Australian born, Gordon travels to and from the USA.